Pochettino – Too early to compare top-six rivals

20th September 2019, 13:22 by Aidan Perkins

Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino feels it's too early to talk about the top-six contenders in the Premier League with the new season only five games old.

Ahead of Saturday’s lunchtime fixture at Leicester, the Argentinian was asked whether the Foxes can break into the top six. Brendan Rodgers took over at the King Power Stadium in February and has steadied Leicester and got them playing attractive football, which has led some to tipping them to qualify for Europe this season.

However, Pochettino believes now is not the time to think about who is going to be competing towards the top of the standings.

“We will see,” Pochettino said. “It’s too early to talk about contenders and what will happen in the future. Still all the teams are finding their best.

“We only play five games in the Premier League. Until you play between 10 and 15 games, it’s difficult to see what will happen and the real contenders, teams who are going to be serious contenders. It is still so early.”

Pochettino, despite not talking up Leicester’s chances of threatening the big six monopoly, was full of praise for Rodgers’ side, describing them as “a very good team” with a “lot of unbelievable players”.

Tottenham have been inconsistent so far this season, mixing some poor performances with some good wins. Last weekend’s 4-0 success over Crystal Palace was in stark contrast to their previous home league game when they went down 1-0 to Newcastle United.

However, despite an indifferent start, Pochettino’s side are third in the early table, just two points behind Manchester City directly above them, although they sit seven adrift of early leaders Liverpool.

The Spurs boss will hope his team can start strongly on Saturday after another sluggish display in midweek, this time against Olympiakos in their Champions League group opener.

Pochettino’s men were 2-0 up in Greece but had to settle for a point after Olympiacos stormed back to earn a deserved 2-2 draw in Group B.

This article originated on sportinastorm.com

Aidan Perkins is a senior journalist that specialises in football stories. Aidan, a Liverpool fan, also has a broad knowledge of several other sports.

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